‘Living Old’ Movie    

‘Living Old’ Movie

 Looking at the “Living Old” movie, one gets astonishing statistics that indicate the number of older people in the community are rising in the modern world. There are nearly thirty-five million elderly individuals in the USA, above the age of eighty-five years. That’s surprising! The numbers show how elderly populations are increasing in the state due to the advanced technologies placed in medical-care and improved living standards, which results in raising life expectancy. The next thirty years will see their population rising to seventy million, representing twenty percent of the entire US population.

Despite the great achievement in raising life expectancy among older people, there is another worrying trend of chronic diseases affecting them. Several individuals are affected by not only one chronic illness, but two or more at the same time. It takes doctors much time prescribing and diagnosing the elderly because many do not know how to describe the illness affecting them. Therefore, it entirely goes to the doctors themselves to make a precise diagnosis and assist in providing medication or treatment. The older adults have a weak body system, which cannot fight chronic illnesses, hence takes more to fight it as compared to the common infectious diseases. If one older adult is affected by one condition, there are higher risks of getting an infection of other diseases, making them more vulnerable. The most meaningful thing in the film is that doctors are working tirelessly to assist in providing care for the elderly in-home care facilities, and also conduct home-visits to those who are confined indoors. However, the cost of providing care is expensive and time-consuming. It might lead to an economic loss because the younger relatives tend to resign from employment and go home to provide care to the elderly people who are sick, weak, and dependent.

Growing old is good, although the issues coming with old age might scare one from wishing to grow old. One person in every five will eventually grow older, and if it happens, one has to prepare for that phase of life. Investing in long-term projects, saving, and having close members can assist the elderly to live much comfortable in their late decade-life. It is important to note that elders need help, compassion, care, and friends to keep surviving because what kills them quickly is negligence, poor dieting, and failure to take medication. The argument that older people should be taken to home-care facilities is not logical, because it denies them family, and caregivers have huge tasks of serving and caring for the rising numbers on older people. The government could help solve the issue by training more caregivers and allocate extra funds to support the elderly in the US.

Erikson’s theory of Ego Integrity believes that the social experiences people go through play a significant role in the development and growth of humans. People pass through experiences that create conflicts during development and act as the primary turning point. Older people will fail to develop from the situation, leaving them vulnerable, without a strong sense of self. Later become despair sets in when they lose all the hope that might have existed. The human ego identification will always change with the new experiences and information acquired as individuals keep living old. Older adults will feel ashamed for not doing simple tasks they knew before, feel embarrassed, and depressed. A good example is an older adult finding it hard to explain his issues to the doctor in the movie. The readings show how world trends keep changing with every step we make and feel is a milestone. Discovering better medical care, improved treatments, and increasing life expectancy has resulted in an increase in chronic diseases among the elderly. It has to be addressed to avoid creating a bomb that will explode in the near future.